Compass, United the latest to settle in Tuccori
The deals are pending, with few details disclosed. Plus, Weichert negotiates with Batton plaintiffs; Compass rebuts NWMLS claims; TRD defamation suit dropped.
Key points:
- Compass and United filed documents with the judge overseeing the Batton 2 case — in which they are defendants — requesting a stay in light of their settlements in Tuccori.
- Weichert, on the other hand, is trying to settle in Batton 2 directly and has also asked for a stay while it negotiates with the plaintiffs.
- Compass filed a motion in another case last week, asking the court to dismiss counterclaims brought by Northwest MLS in an ongoing legal battle.
- A defamation case brought by Tal, Oren and Alon Alexander against The Real Deal has been dropped. The ex-luxury agents and their brother were found guilty of sex trafficking in March.
Compass and United Real Estate have joined numerous other brokerages in reaching settlements in the case known as Tuccori, according to an April 27 court filing.
If the deals are approved, the firms would likely be released from claims in Batton 2 — a related lawsuit filed by homebuyers alleging a conspiracy to inflate commission fees. Both firms are defendants in Batton 2 but not in Tuccori.
Meanwhile, Weichert is negotiating directly with the Batton 2 plaintiffs, and all three brokerages have filed requests to stay proceedings in the case as the settlements play out.
Opting into Tuccori
Compass and United Real Estate filed a joint memo on Monday informing the judge in the Batton case that they had entered into settlement agreements with the Tuccori plaintiffs. The brokerages joined the settlement group via an opt-in clause that allows defendants facing similar litigation to join Tuccori rather than settle in their original cases.
Other defendants to opt in so far include NAR, Douglas Elliman, Anywhere, The Real Brokerage, Hanna Holdings, Realty One, The Agency and several smaller firms — though some of those settlements are facing pushback from plaintiffs in other cases.
In consideration of their pending deals, Compass and United also filed a motion to stay proceedings while they await settlement approval.
If their Tuccori settlements are approved, the brokerages argued, that would not only release them from all claims in Batton, but — given their earlier settlements in Gibson, a commissions case brought by homesellers — it would absolve them from claims related to the "alleged conspiracy" of inflating commissions altogether.
In Oct. 2024, nine Gibson settlements received final approval, including those reached by Compass ($57.5 million) and United ($3.75 million).
Weichert hoping to reach a deal
Weichert Real Estate, another Batton 2 defendant, has chosen to work with the plaintiffs in that case rather than join Tuccori.
The plaintiff homebuyers and Weichert submitted a joint motion on April 20 requesting a 60-day stay of the case — for Weichert only — while the parties work on a mutually agreeable settlement.
The plaintiffs and Weichert reported that settlement discussions between them are underway, and Weichert would like to conserve its financial resources by refraining from filing an answer to the most recent complaint — originally due today — and instead focus on working with a mediator to agree on a settlement.
In the filing, the parties agreed to update the court on the status of their negotiations by May 27.
Compass asks court to toss NWMLS counterclaims
Separately, on April 23 Compass filed a motion to dismiss Northwest MLS's counterclaims against the brokerage. The counterclaim was made in response to Compass' lawsuit, filed a year ago, alleging that NWMLS was engaging in anticompetitive business practices by enacting policies that prohibit pre-marketing and office exclusives.
Compass argued that the Seattle-based MLS was attempting to "manufacture tort liability" against Compass, and that the legal action served as "an unveiled threat" to the brokerage and any other Seattle brokers who would consider going against NWMLS's rules or "breaking from the conspiracy of brokers it has organized."
Contrary to NWMLS's counterclaim, the filing stated, Compass did not deceive anyone about its 3-phased marketing strategy, and moreover, the MLS failed to make an argument showing that it had incurred any injury of its own.
NWMLS instead pointed to injury to "consumers," "broker members" and "the public" to justify its claims, Compass argued, even though "NWMLS is not a consumer organization; it is a private, brokerage-owned organization controlled by incumbent firms that use its rules to dictate how homes can be marketed and sold."
The filing also noted that NWMLS referenced a newly passed Washington state law barring certain types of private listings to support its counterclaim, but Compass argued that the law — which takes effect in June — is irrelevant to NWMLS's claims. Compass added that its 3-phased marketing strategy "fully complies with this new law."
Alexanders' lawsuit against The Real Deal dropped
The Alexander brothers withdrew their defamation lawsuit against real estate trade publication The Real Deal (TRD) this week, the media site announced on Monday.
Ex-luxury brokers Tal and Oren, and their former security executive brother, Alon, were found guilty of sex trafficking last month.
In June 2025, the brothers initiated a $500 million defamation lawsuit against TRD after the real estate news outlet first broke and continued to report on lawsuits against them that alleged the brothers had engaged in sexual assault against multiple women over several years.
The brothers claimed that TRD intentionally published "false and misleading" stories about them, which caused irreparable reputational harm, in order to grow its subscriber base. A notice of discontinuance is now pending in the case's docket.